Ignorance The Story of Johanna Mason
by AccioBeauty
Summary: The Story of Johanna Mason participating and winning the 68th Annual Hunger Games. Rated T for violence/gore
1. Prologue

The tip of the blade slammed into the side of a large pine tree and a sharp crack broke the serene silence of the forest. The trunk quivered, swaying back and forth on it's stump. I smiled at the force of my throw, I yanked my axe out, my aim was only getting better and better. I looked up to the sky, it was probably about 7 o'clock from the sun. I couldn't hear anyone in the forest, and as I looked out to the hills, no one in sight. A smile creeped onto my lips and the wind whipped my short dark hair behind me. I turned and sprinted into the forest, I slammed my axe into the tree, using it to help me climb. I use it until there are branches to grip, climbing until there was nothing more. I sat at the top of the tree, my hands red from gripping my axe. I already felt the calluses starting to form. I let out a great sigh, watching as the sun set over the hills. The flashes of orange and yellow painted a mural on the clear sky. As day turned to night, I climbed down the tree, my leather combat boots gripping to the tree like tape. I slid down expertly, and dropped a couple feet, slamming down into the wet earth. I raced through the forest, knowing if I was gone any longer the Peacekeepers would find me. As I escaped the clutches of the forest, I slowed my pace, knowing I was safe just after the hills. The stars scattered the sky on my walk home, and I couldn't help but some to admire them as they shined above me. I stuck my axe down my back, making sure my loose t-shirt hid it. Of course I wasn't supposed to have any weapons out side of work. Not that I ever paid attention to the rules that the Capitol had made. I was always cautious, but never was I one to blindly adhere.

As the grass turned to stone, and I entered the empty square. I felt the flat of the blade press against my skin as I slowly walked, knowing a peacekeeper would ask where I had been if I was caught. Though, lying wasn't exactly a challenge. I strode through the square with no problem, it was empty and silent other than the croaking frogs in the distance. The steady pounding of my boots on the stone echoed through the square, so I slowed my pace. The silence set an eery mood in the town, so I quickly headed into our small neighborhood of houses. District 7 was fairly large, though our branch of houses was tiny. A strand of 15 houses was gathered in a large cul-de-sac, I walked toward the 3rd house to the right. The lights in my house were the only ones on, and I was scared what to find inside. There weren't many things I feared, but my mother angry, was one of them.

I took a deep breath, chewing on my bottom lip. My hand eased forward, gripping the doorknob. I turned it ever so slightly, only to find my mother wrenching it open. I jumped, taken aback. "Johanna Mason, I swear..." My mother pointed accusingly at me, and shook her head. I grimaced,waiting for a lecture, but she just let me in and closed the door behind me with a click. My eyebrows raised and I glanced at her, incredibly confused. "No lecture?" I said, she glared at me, her eyes full of annoyance.

"Why do you always assume that?" She asked, her voice as frazzled as much as her thick hair. I gave one hard laugh.

"Er, I dunno, cause you always lecture me when I break the rules?" I said, sarcasm seeping into my voice. My mother was wearing a pale blue nightgown, with three buttons at the top that opened to a collar, her dark brown hair falling just above it. I scratched the back of my head when she had no reply.

"Just go to bed, Hanna." She said tiredly, patting me on the shoulder and pushing me towards my bedroom. I grinned, a silent victory running through my head. "Goodnight, Ma!" I said, as she walked away towards her bedroom. She stalked away, saying nothing. I had missed a close one, and I had no idea how I had done it. I couldn't help but chuckle as I slipped into my night clothes. Setting my axe under my matress, where no one could find it. The wooden floor squeaking as I slipped into bed. I pulled the cold sheets over me, the material thin and crunchy. I tried to smooth the wrinkles, but it was no use. I gave up after a couple seconds, it was too much effort, and I was already tired. My eyelids dropped, on the brink of sleep, I felt the edge of my blanket tugged up. My eyelids flew open and I turned on my side, seeing my little brother's face staring at me. I sighed,"You scared me to death, Joshua." I said quietly, shaking my head. He had his index finger in his mouth, chewing on his fingernail. I looked at him, questioningly. I sat up and ruffled the hair on his bed,"Come on." I said, giving into his innocent face. He climbed onto my small bed and laid down next to me. After a couple minutes, I knew he was fast asleep by his breathing. I was jealous of him, he was so innocent. Unaware that tomorrow, his sister could face a potential deathsentence. The Reaping.

I didn't fall asleep for several hours. Hours of looking out of the window and staring at the stars, mimicking Joshua's breathing patterns. I couldn't seem to get it off my mind, the Reaping. Every year two tributes chosen to face other children in a fight to the death. My mind flashes with images of Vincent, sitting in a chair next to Ceasar, smiling and nodding. Flash , his strong arms clean slicing off someone's head with an axe. Flash , Vincent with an arrow to the thigh, collapsing onto the desert-like earth. Flash , Vincent lying on his back, moaning in pain. Flash , a knife perfectly aimed at his heart. Flash , a cannon fired and his face along with "District 7" shown up in the sky. Flash , my father punching the TV screen. Flash , my mother in hysterics, rocking back and forth. Flash , my lips forming the words, "I'm fine" hundreds and hundreds of times.

I couldn't stand it. My jaw clenched tight, hands in fists, tears sliding down my cheeks. I held Joshua tight to me, he was only 5, and couldn't sleep alone. My tears slowed, and I felt my mind slip into a deep sleep.


	2. The Reaping

The Reaping-

My eyes opened, sore and red. I squinted at the sunlight pouring into my room. No longer was Joshua sound asleep at my side, but standing in front of me, a small hand on my side, shaking me awake. I sat up,"Morning?" I said, still squinting into the sunlight. "Morning." He squeaks, taking the hand that shook me awake using it to chew on his index finger. I sat up and looked at him, "Take that out of your mouth." I said, batting it out of his lips. "filthy child." I muttered, shaking my head. I stood up, seeing the dress that my mother had laid out for me for the Reaping ceremonies. I swallowed, it all seemed so real now. "Another Reaping. It's just another Reaping",I tried to convince myself. I was confident that I wouldn't get picked. We had never taken tesserae because we could afford to feed our family with the money I made from work, my mother's, and father's.

I ushered Joshua out of the room for some privacy while I changed. I shut my old wooden door with a click, and my bare feet walked to my bed, creaking the floorboards with every step. You could never keep quiet in a house like this.

The pale green dress laid on my bed, and my fingers wrapped around the fabric, as I lifted it from the bed. It was simple, but a little worn. I thought I had seen my mother wear this before, so I assumed she was lending it to me. I stripped my clothes and slipped into this one, I felt too dressy wearing this. I felt girly enough with the hairstyle my mother would give me in minutes. The fabric on the dress was an itchy cotton, I wanted more than anything to take it off. But this was the only dress that I owned and my mother would kill me if I was caught in pants at the Reaping. The dress had three buttons that opened up to the folded down collar. I tugged at it, unbuttoning the three buttons so that there was a deep V to my chest. I knew my mother wouldn't approve, but it was better than taking off the dress completely. There was a ribbon tied around the waist of the dress, I quickly yanked it off and put it on on the ground. I smiled, this would look much better. The dress hung to my knees, the length was unflattering and honestly, plain ugly. A devious smile creeped onto my lips and I glanced at my door, making sure it was locked. I walked to my bed, reaching under the matress to yank out my axe. I smiled and sat on my bed, begining to pull at the fabric, I slowly cut about three inches off the end of my dress. Now my dress had an uneven edge and hung a couple inches above my knees. I tucked my axe under my mattress once again and smoothed the wrinkles in my dress. My mother couldn't complain because now it was the dress or pants. I was fine with either choice now. Though, a long lecture would be in my future.

I unlocked my door and twisted the knob, as I strutted out of my room confidentally my mother's mouth dropped open. I smiled brightly,"Morning,Mother!" I said, cheerfully and kissed her cheek. Her hand clapped over her mouth and I raised my eyebrows innocently,"What is it, mother?" Her eyes glared at me, harshly and I bit my lip mischievously. "Oh, by the way, I love this dress!" I said, straightening the wrinkles in the skirt. She shook her head,"Sit." She said sternly, pointing at the wooden chair next to her. I skipped over to the chair and sat down, I could tell her urge to yell and scream was at an all time high. I couldn't help but giggle. She ran her fingers through my dark auburn hair and she began to work on it. She didn't even have a comb, just a stack of bobby pins and her callused hands. I sat in the chair, my posture as terrible as usual. I bit my nails the same way Joshua did as I slumped in my seat.

Soon after I had sat down, my mother was finished. "Okay, done." She said, sighing. She had seemed to have been distracted by my hair to yell at me for what I had done to my dress. I stood up quickly, skipping (for the sake of annoying my mother) through the dining room into my parents bedroom. Where I knew a full length mirror was placed. I stopped skipping and walked into the room, the squeaky floorboards worse in the bedrooms than in the main rooms, I never knew why, it was always how it was.

I stopped in front of my mother's mirror that was leaned against the wall directly beside her large wooden dresser. I took in my reflection in the mirror. My wide-set brown eyes, a dull color today, my olive-toned complexion, small nose, and thin lips. Then there was my hair, that fell past my collarbone in dark waves. My mother than taken the front parts of my hair and pulled them back, pinning them there, the ends blending with the rest of my hair. It was a lot simpler than normal, last year I had elaborate braids all tied back into a bun, the year before that it was parted on the side and pulled to one side of my head, and then one braid pulled around my head to look like a headband. I was much happier with this style than any of the others. I couldn't help but laugh as I looked at my dress. The ends were severely frayed, but the length showed off my legs. It looked much less girly, and more sexy than anything with the short length and opened chest. I nodded, I had done a pretty good job.

As I left my mother's room I saw Joshua coming towards me, he smiled, taking his index finger away from his mouth. "Pretty." He said, grinning a smile that missed one front tooth. I picked him up,"Mommy doesn't like it, you should go tell her what you said to me." I whispered in his ear. His uncombed mop of hair fell into his eyes and he grinned, his bright green eyes lighting up. "Okay!" He said, running over to my mother the second I set him down. I grinned and watched as Joshua tugged on the end of Mother's skirt,"Sissy looks beautiful, you are so crazy, Mama...not believing she is." She rolled her eyes and threw a glance at me, I shrugged giving her an innocent look,"I don't know where that came from." I said, smiling. My mother pat Joshua's head and a loud bell range throughout the district, signalling that everyone must come to the square. I walked to the door, slipping on my black work boots. My mother didn't protest, I sighed, and looked at my mother. She echoed my sigh and pulled me into a hug as I approached her,after a few seconds, I hugged her back, but only for a little. I released her and she let her arms drop,"Good luck, Johanna." My mother said, quietly. I nodded and shrugged,"I'll see you in a little bit." I said, knowing I wouldn't come back. Joshua tugged on my dress and I leaned down onto my knees,he wrapped his arms around my neck and I hugged him back. "I'll be back soon, J." I said, ruffling his already-messy hair. "I love you." He said, quietly. His bright green eyes specked with brilliant dots of silver. I touched his cheek and smiled,"I'll see you soon, okay?" He nodded and smiled. "Bye bye." I sighed, my father still wasn't home. Probably at the bar. It was his only coping mechanism since Vincent. I looked at my mother, knowing would realize I was thinking about my father. She shook her head and I rolled my eyes,"Whatever, it's not like he cares." I mumbled under my breath. I twisted the doorknob and exited my house, waving to Joshua as he watched me leave.

The town was loud with the chatter of the Reaping. The worried expressions of parents as they released their children to face their potential death-sentence. I could hear distant cries,laughter, screams, words, all jumbled into one loud buzz. I tried to tune it out as I walked towards the square, but it was useless. The buzz rang through my ears, bombarding it restlessly. I sighed, reaching the town square only made the buzz louder. Though I could start to make out individual phrases,"No!","You can't make me!","Why?". I ignored it, I wondered why people got so worked up, there was such a slight chance out of the hundreds of people who lived in District 7. I made my way to the sea of people, pushing my way through until I reached the station. I got in line to get my blood taken and I couldn't help but notice people staring at me. I smirked at jealous glances of girls and googling eyes of boys.

"Hand?" The peacekeeper asked me. I held out my finger, and they pricked it quickly, pressing my finger to the slip of paper. I heard the machine beep as they scanned it, my name popping up quickly after. "Next." The woman said, and I left the line, moving towards the 16-year-old section of girls. I sucked on the finger they had pricked and wiped the excess blood on my dress, which,too my disappointment, didn't show. I caught snippets of people's conversations,"If you're picked,can I have your shoes?" One girl asked another. I sniffled a laugh, I wasn't surprised, though I still found humorous.

The large stage was wide and skinny, a giant screen standing next to the stage showed the Capitol symbol at the moment and would soon play the video of why we had the Hunger Games. I never enjoyed the video. It was full of lies and twisted words that only made the Capitol sound grand, and killing children to be a fantastic thing. District 7's symbol was engraved on the Justice building, directly behind the stage. There were metal towers in the corners of the square, which was actually shaped more like a diamond, the towers held bright shining lights that shined down on the stage. Though they were unneeded on the bright sunny day. Everything the Capitol did was unneeded.

The escort for District 7 came walking onstage, her tinted purple purple skin covered in glitter as she walked on stage. She was glowing from all the light that reflected off the sparkles on her skin, it was blinding. Her horse-like face grinned a large-toothed smile. Her eyebrows were bright purple, but almost hidden by her terribly long fake eyelashes. I couldn't even begin to describe the makeup that was caked on her face, but it was made me touch my own face, thankful it was clean.

"Welcome!" Della Ainstworth's voice echoed through the square. I cringed at the volume, and the crowd grew silent. The buzz of chatter still echoing through my ears. "To the Reaping for the 68th Annual Hunger Games!" She said, her voice high pitched and squeaky. She giggled, her face bright with excitement, as if she couldn't wait another minute. "Now, a video to remind us, why we hold these wonderful games!" She motioned a purple hand toward the screen and the video started to play, I mouthed practically the whole thing. I had seen it 3 times already in person, and many more from watching at home. The video came to a close, and the anthem played. I stood bored, and I could practically feel the anxiety of others around me. The looks of terror on their faces. I would expect at 16 you'd be mature enough not to shriek. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to Della again as she spoke. "Well, of course," she giggles her obnoxious laugh and I cringe again. "Ladies first!" Girls clinged to eachother or held hands as Della walked her 5 inch heels to the clear bowl that sat on a pedestal, filled with individual slips of papers. Her hand reached in and she dramatically pulled one slip out, walking back towards the microphone, I wondered how the hell she walked straight in those pieces of plastic they called shoes. She cleared her throat, smiling widely and unfolding the paper. Her eyes scanned over it and she opened her lips to form the two words that would decide who dies.

"Johanna Mason!" I heard my name being called and I laughed. I laughed. People stared, moving aside from me. Peacekeepers closed in on me and I shook my head, still laughing. They put their hands on my back to push me forward and I jerked around,"Don't touch me, I can walk by myself, thank you very much." I said, walking on stage. My combat boots clanking loudly as I walked up the stairs on stage. Della smiled brightly, and made quick eyecontact with me, which I threw a very dirty look at. She quickly stepped to the microphone, avoiding my gaze. "So, your female District 7 tribute!" She motioned to me, quick not to catch my eyes again. "Now, for the boys!" She walked to the opposite side of the stage directly across from the girl's pedestal. She reached in, taking her time and she plucked out a piece. My mind didn't think. Not about the Hunger Games. Not about my potential death. Just curiosity for who my partner would be, not that I had any friends here anyways. Della pranced to the microphone,"Ehem," She cleared her throat again. "Dylan Mallory!" I had no idea who this was. But, I searched the crowd, it was in the 18 year old section. People parted away from him and the look on his face was a mix of complete terror and utter shock. I sighed, and shifted my weight to my right side. I heard a girl scream from the 16 year old section, I realized it was the same girl who made the comment on shoes that I had heard talk behind me. She was cutting through the crowd trying to get to Dylan, but the Peacekeepers held her back and pushed Dylan forward. I suspected it was a girlfriend, or sister. But, I was leaning towards girlfriend from the looks of Dylan, I suspected he had girls all over him. Peacekeepers pushed him towards the stairs and the girl was still struggling, from the Peacekeepers, screaming and kicking. As he got closer I noticed his incredibly green eyes, almost identical to Joshua's. Something caught in my stomach as I realized that Joshua would be grieving in the end, he would lose a sister.

Dylan stood next to me, his face still blank and pale. Della smiled, and nodded for us to shake hands. Dylan held out his hand and I shook it lightly, turning back to the crowd. and dropping his hand. Della stepped forward,"Your District 7 tributes!"


	3. Easily Angered and Incredibly Bored

Della lead us into the Justice building, and I yawned as they pushed us into separate rooms. The room was small, and petite, must have been an office of some sort. There was a large desk on one side of the room and 2 bright red couches on the other side. I plopped down on one of the couches, lounging casually. As I chewed on my lip I realized that I needed to win, for my family, who already lost my brother to these sick games. I wonder if I can do it, but my mother and Joshua burst into the room, interrupting my train of thought. My neck snapped up to meet my mother's gaze, wet streaks of tears stained her face, mimicking Joshua's. I sighed, standing up as my mother wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me with a vise-like grip. I felt little hands hold onto my calf as my mother held me tight, sobbing into my shoulder. "I...I never, thought th-that after V-Vincent that you...you..." She sobbed more, stuttering with every word. I sighed, stroking her hair. "It's fine, mom. I'll win, no problem." I said, casually. She released me and I felt the blood rush back to my arms. She gave me an expression that obviously wasn't confident in my plan to win. "Johanna..." She shook her head, wiping her eyes violently. "I love you." I nodded to her and Joshua grunted reaching up to me, I leaned down to pick him up, and he rested his face in the curve of my neck. Wet tears streaming down his face, surely Mother had told him I would be leaving. "Don't go..." He whispered, I bit my lip, closing my eyes. I put my hand on the back of his head,"I have to, but you'll see me on TV and I'll be back, I promise." I said, softly into his hair. He sniffed loudly, I could tell he didn't believe me, but he just nodded. I was glad I wouldn't have to argue with him. "Don't worry about m-"

"Time's up, Sweetheart!" A peacekeeper with a rough scratchy beard said, yanking my mother from the room. I felt another peacekeeper take Joshua out of my arms and his screams echoed through the building,"No! Johanna! Come back, No!" He struggled in the peacekeepers arms, and I couldn't watch, so I shifted my gaze to the window. The square was clearing slowly and I leaned my cheek against my hand, no one else would be coming to see me, that's for sure. I wasn't a big friend-maker.

I heard screams and yells that I soon recognized as the girl screaming for Dylan at the reaping. I rolled my eyes,"Girlfriends." I mutter under my breath, the peacekeeper with the beard pushed the girl out of the Justice Building. She stomped her foot and pounded her fists on the door,"No! No! He cannot go in there, not my baby!" Her messy blonde hair was going everywere, and I couldn't help but stifle a chuckle. She looked completely insane. Her knuckles beginning to bleed from the constant banging, her hair frazzled as much as my mothers, her wild eyes, her repeated screaming, the list went on, but I got tired of looking at her for too long. What caught my attention was two more girls, pushed out of the Justice Building. I laughed, Dylan's got his own fanclub. I rolled my eyes and lounged back in the chair, staring at the dark clouds moving in, covering up what little rays of sun we had left. The rain was coming in and everyone had filed out of the square, leaving only the Peacekeepers to take down the giant towers of lights and whatever else the Capitol had put up for the Reaping.

The door flew open and the bearded Peacekeeper grabbed my arm, wrenching me from my seat. "Up." I furrowed my eyebrows and brushed myself off, removing his hand from my wrist. "I can respond to words you know, I don't need physical restraint." I rolled my eyes and his eyes narrowed, I walked forward briskly, a cocky expression spreading onto my face. The Peacekeeper coughed as he walked in front of me when we reached the main room of the Justice Building. I looked at him with raised eyebrows, innocently. "Problem?" I asked, his jaw clenched and he stayed silent, going to the room across from the one I was in, probably to fetch Dylan.

The rhythmic beatings on the door pounded every second, 3 fists begging to enter the room. I tuned it out, and walked to a small side table that had gathered a considerable amount of dust. I swiped a finger along the table, my finger soon covered in a thick grey fluff. I made a disgusted face and looked at the Peacekeeper who stood in front of the door,"You guys should really clean this place more often, it's filthy." I said,wiping the dust on a nearby chair. The Peacekeepers eye's widened and I grinned, sitting on the chair. I slouched in a very un-ladylike fashion, not caring what they did to me, I was dead anyways.

The bearded Peacekeeper pushed Dylan into the room forcefully and I eyed him, squinting slightly. I look to the door, constant pounding seemed neverending. "Seems like you've got your own little posse, eh?" I said, nodding to the door and looking back at Dylan. He looked a little taken aback, and his eyes wavered over to the door. He shrugged and I rolled my eyes,"Whatever." I said, standing up and letting out a long sigh. "Well, we getting on this train, or what?" I crossed my arms, boredly. The Peacekeepers exchanged glances and then started to push us out the back entrance and away from Dylan's fanclub. I only hoped I wouldn't get tacked by them if they found out where we had gone.

I made sure this time that the Peacekeeper didn't touch me, it seemed like he knew already, so I didn't need telling him. I whistled as we walked, kicking the dirt road,clouds of dust flying upward towards the Peacekeepers. I snickered under my breath as one of them coughed slightly, and the bearded Peacekeepers threw me a glare. I smiled innocently, and kept kicking the dirt as soon as he turned around.

Dylan was dead silent, looking down and sorrow, I nudged his side with my elbow. "Cheer up, Boy Toy, we have games to win." He didn't respond, but only flickered his eyes from me to the ground. I narrowed my eyes, and sighed,"Well, you could at least be nice to me. Hmph." I rolled my eyes, kicking the dirt more in Dylan's direction now. He didn't seem to notice, which annoyed me a little, but I continued doing it.

"Will you stop it already?" Dylan said, intensely. I threw him a look.

"Calm down, I'm just having some fun, unlike some people here, I'm not moping around." I said, sourly. He glared at me and I saw stains of dried trails of tears. He had been crying? I brushed it off, I didn't feel bad for what I said, either, he was the one swallowed in sorrow.

"Well, unlike some people here, I actually care about my family." He said, raising an eyebrow at me. I jerked my head back, surprised.

"Ouch." I rolled my eyes and the Peacekeepers lead us to a metal contraption we had learned about in school. An automobile they had called it, or "car" for short. I don't know why they called it a car, since the original name is automobile. Hm, weird ass people.

The Peacekeeper motioned for us to get in and I slid into the seat, first, followed by Dylan. I patted the upholstery on the seat, and recognized it as leather. I had a jacket back home that was the same material.

I smoothed the wrinkles in my dress and the Peacekeeper slammed the door shut. A different peacekeeper was in the front seat of the "car" and I stared out the glass window, a cloud of dust rising as the automobile moved forward. I saw Dylan's posse run out from the front of the Justice Building, charging towards the car, screaming out his name. I chuckled and nudged Dylan,"Oh look, it's your girlfriends." I nodded out the window of his side and he lifted his head, and the two Peacekeepers that lead us to the automobile held them back, struggling out of their grips.

These girls were insane, sure Dylan was good-looking. His mess of loose blonde curls topped on his head, dark chocolate brown eyes, tan complexion, toned body, but his personality wasn't the best for what I've seen. We sped forward and soon the girls and peacekeepers were just a speck in the distance.

I reached back to my hair, and took out the pins and brushed out the braids. My mess of waves falling semi-neatly to my shoulders. I was bored in the long ride to the train, so I did annoying things to piss Dylan off(drumming my fingers on the window sill, humming, tapping on the seat, kicking the seat in front of me) but his emotion was mostly the same, which again, was obnoxious. He was a little too silent.

Everyone was back in their houses as we rode through the town, and no one was in the forest or fields since it the Reaping day. It was a ghost town.

It was about 10 minutes till we arrived at the train, which was waiting patiently for us to hop in. A peacekeeper stood in front of the entrance, guarding the door. As fumbled with the handle to open the door, Dylan laughed. I threw a nasty look at him and slapped his arm, leaving a red mark.

"Hey!" The peacekeeper who drove the "car" said. I rolled my eyes and got the door open, jumping out quickly. Dylan opened his door with no problem and I tried to ignore it as I barged onto the train, ignoring the Peacekeeper's protests.

The train was fairly large, but the size wasn't what I was gawking at as I came in. The glamour was extremely unnecessary. A speck of carpet on the floor was probably worth more than my whole house.

There were rows of seats on either side, with mahogany tables and a large chandelier in the middle, the glass diamonds clinking together. There was a whole wall of tables at the far end of the cart, containing an array of foods I had never even heard of. The smell was spectacular. I stepped closer to the food, grabbing one of the chocolate treats. I popped it in my mouth, and my tongue exploded with flavor. The luxury was like nothing I had before. I didn't bother savoring the flavor because as soon as I swallowed another was in my mouth. Dylan didn't bother sampling the food, but just sat down at one of the booths, staring out the window. I sighed, he was one boring person.

I grabbed a couple chocolate covered strawberry and plopped down in the booth across from him. "Want one?" I asked, nudging one of the strawberries towards him and it rolled towards him, stopping at his fingers. He glanced at it, as if it were some complicated math problem. I reached across the table holding it in front of his nose,"Come on, it smells to good to pass up." I said,biting in to another one. He let out a sigh of defeat and popped one in his mouth. I smiled, mission accomplished.

I heard a door behind me open and I glanced at it, a man, probably in his fifties strode into the room. I knew him as Blight, he had won the 35th Hunger Games, my mother had told me only two short years ago when Vincent took on the Arena. He looked at each of us, looking back and forth until his eyebrows raised at me. "Vincent's sister, I believe?" He said, his tone deep, but smooth. I nodded slowly, and he smiled slightly. "Good boy, he was." He said, pulling up a chair to the booth.

"I know." I said, a little harshly. I knew my own brother, I knew how good he was, I knew he didn't deserve to die when he had come so close. I knew. He sighed, taking in my tone.

"And you," He nodded to Dylan. ",Anything special about you I should know?" At first, Dylan didn't even look up, until a couple seconds of silence, he met Blight's gaze.

"Oh, erm." He said, blinking quickly, as if he had just woken up from a long nap. "I guess not." He shrugged and I rolled my eyes, leaning towards Blight.

I cupped a hand to one side of my face, stage whispering,"He's not really the talkative type."

"Ah." Blight said, nodding. I smiled, sarcastically and looked at Dylan, who glared harsh eyes at me. I shrugged,"I mean, some people are just more outspoken, and actually like to communicate with people." I said in mock-sympathy, looking at Blight. He let out a soft chuckle.

"Very true, although outspoken people can get themselves in a lot of trouble when trying to prove a point." He said, mimicking my mock-sympathy. I rolled my eyes, seeing his point.

"It's better than being a quiet little boy toy who mopes around because he has too many girls kneeling at his feet." I spat, looking directly at Dylan. His head snapped up and I saw the frustration flash in his eyes, his hands forming fists.

"At least I'm not a stuck up bitch who thinks she can do whatever she wants just because she has no emotions." He said, sarcastically. "Thank God that I'm not like THAT."

I glared harshly and reached across the table to hurt him in any way I could. Blight pushed me back in my seat.

"Save it for the arena, kids." He said, sighing. I glared daggers at Dylan and my jaw clenched, he didn't want to pick a fight with me. No one did. Blight broke the silence,"Well, seems like we might want to take a little time away from eachother." He looked from me to Dylan,"Lunch is in a few, I suggest you be on your best behavior."

I looked at him,"Why?" I said, sourly. Blight put a hand to his forehead, brushing what little gray hair he had on his head backwards.

"Because." He said, slowly. "Cameras will be everywhere from now on, and I don't believe people want him to have a black eye for his interviews." He gestured to Dylan and I gave him a sour smirk.

"Nah, I think purple and black really works on him." I said, smiling sweetly and sliding out of the booth. He slammed his fists on the table and a let out a small laugh. I walked towards the door, leaving to the next cart.

These games would be a breeze.


End file.
